Meetings to gather public input on proposed revisions to Tillamook and Clatsop State Forests plans

Article Content

April 7, 2009Contact: Jeff Foreman, 503-945-7506

The Oregon Department of Forestry has scheduled meetings in Forest Grove, Tillamook and Astoria to gather public input on proposed revisions to plans for implementing management of the Tillamook and Clatsop state forests.

The first meeting is April 13 at the Forest Grove District office, 801 Gales Creek Road; the second is April 16 at the Tillamook District office, 5005 E. Third Street; and the third is April 21 at the Astoria District office, 92219 Highway 202.

All the meetings will go from 6 to 8 p.m. The focus of each meeting will be on the implementation plan for the district in that location.

A brief explanation about implementation plans and why revisions are being proposed is planned at the beginning of each meeting. The rest of the time will be used to answer questions and gather public input on the implementation plans.

The meetings are part of a public comment period that started March 30 and runs to May 13 at 5 p.m. Comments may be provided at the meetings or submitted in writing to the district offices or the ODF headquarters in Salem.

Also being reviewed are the forest land management classification maps, which describe the management emphasis for parcels of land. The classifications vary from general stewardship (actively managed), to focused stewardship (requires additional consideration) to special stewardship (restrictions apply).

Implementation plans assess the current forest conditions (a starting point) and project a “desired future condition” that extends out several decades. These plans describe management activities, such as harvesting, roads and reforestation, that will occur over a 10-year period and contain estimates of outputs – volume and stand structure – from the forests.

Implementation plans provide the objectives for the annual operations plans, and they link the goals and strategies found in the long-range forest management plans to the annual plans. The implementation plans being reviewed are for Tillamook, Forest Grove and Astoria districts, which manage the Tillamook and Clatsop state forests.

● Reflect changes in condition, such as land exchanges, and threatened and endangered species locations.

● Adjust forest land management classifications.

● Better achieve the Northwest Oregon State Forest Management Plan goals. Current implementation of the plan has not produced the level of volume promised when it was approved in 2001.

The proposed revision to implementation plan reduces the long-term goal for structurally complex forests from 50 percent to 40 percent. Revised plans set harvesting at about 167 mmbf, while achieving 20 percent complex structure in 20 years. The current harvest level is 186 mmbf. The current complex structure level varies by district, with Tillamook at 6 percent, Forest Grove at 16 percent and Astoria at 21 percent.

The current implementation plans were approved 2003. After public comments have been considered and any changes made, the revised plans will be submitted to State Forester Marvin Brown for approval.

All state-managed public forests are actively managed as working forests under management plans adopted by the Board of Forestry to provide economic, environmental and social benefits to Oregonians.

Each district covered by the Northwest Oregon State Forests Management Plan and Southwest Oregon State Forest Management Plan has a 10-year implementation plan that describes how the management activities will achieve the goals of the forest management plans. The implementation plans are posted on the ODF web site at:
http://www.oregon.gov/ODF/STATE_FORESTS/District_Implementation_Plans.shtml

Comments on the following key parts of the implementation plans and forest land management classification maps would be most helpful: accuracy of current condition, balance of desired future condition, planned actions move toward desired future, revisions meet greatest permanent value rule, roads have insignificant impact on water quality, recreation meets visitors’ needs, and land classification appropriately designated.

Comments and questions may be sent to ODF district offices or the Salem headquarters. They also may be e-mailed to Salem (specific district should be identified) to rwelty@odf.state.or.us. Addresses and fax numbers follow: